Newfoundland is the kind of easygoing place where unique and memorable experiences very often crop up to surprise us on every trip. This is a vast and diverse province covering 400,000 square kilometers of land. The nature and wildlife here never fails to surprise us—an iceberg runs aground in a bay, a pod of whales feeds and breaches off the coast, a local invites us into their house to show us their personal museum of the local fisheries and feed us with coffee and freshly made scones. Heck, we’ve even had the pleasure of witnessing the aurora in the skies above.

We visit Newfoundland is to see one of the largest and most accessible Northern Puffin Colonies in the world. Elliston is among the best places in Newfoundland to observe a natural puffin habitat. Observers can often get close enough to the puffins to not need binoculars.

The Atlantic Puffin is one of four puffin species and the only one that lives on the North Atlantic Ocean. The Latin term is Fratercula arctica, which can be translated as "little brother of the north." The puffin is also known as the "sea parrot” due in part to its interesting coloring. Elliston has hundreds of nesting pairs and there are more on North Bird Island.

And if one of the largest Puffin Colonies isn't enough reason, Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve is a wonderland for photographers and explorers alike. This captivating area is protected by provincial legislation, and is the most accessible seabird rookery in North America. Its natural beauty makes it perfect for nature walks and family adventures.

Cape St. Mary's is the southernmost breeding area for thick-billed murres, and the southernmost major breeding site for common murres in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. In the winter you’ll see 20,000 scoters, oldsquaw, harlequin, dovekies, thick-billed murres, and kittiwakes. Thousands of gulls, razorbills, common murres, black-legged kittiwakes, northern gannets, and double-crested and great cormorants also nest here.

Bird Rock is the third largest nesting site and southernmost colony of northern gannets in North America. This site is overflowing with perching, diving, and scrambling birds from edge to edge – melding together into an awesome moving, breathing spectacle of color and sound.

The stunning, majestic scenery of the Cape, with its rugged cliffs, is perfect for a relaxing walk or a challenging hike. Mosses, lichens, low-growing shrubs, and alpine wildflowers blanket the plateau and nearby Golden Bay is seasonally rich with wild bakeapple berry pickings.

During our Newfoundland photo workshop, Juan and Kevin will work with you at these sanctuaries to teach the best way to capture these magnificent bird species— finding the best angle of the light, backgrounds, depth of field, and how to best capture bird behavior.

But amidst all the bird activity, there are the icebergs…

When it comes to viewing icebergs, this is one of the best places in the world. On a sunny day, view these 10,000-year-old glacial giants from many points along the northern and eastern coasts—in every shape and size—with colors ranging from snow-white to the deepest aquamarine. Despite their arrival from the Arctic every spring, our awe of these icebergs remains new, year after year. Their sheer size sends the mind racing, and that's not even counting the ninety-percent still unseen below the surface!

You’ll be able to enjoy the icegergs on our boat tour—you could even paddle alongside our boat tour in a sea kayak—or enjoy one of our many easy hikes along the 29,000 km of coastline to see the icebergs that have run ashore.

What makes the Newfoundland workshop special is not just that will we explore some of the largest bird rookeries in North America, but we will also bear witness to some very unique and picturesque communities and landscapes, as well as experience the thrill of getting up close to and photographing ancient icebergs.

Muench Workshops offers personal instruction and an all-inclusive experience so you can focus on your photography. Founded in 2007, we collaborate with the best pros and local guides to offer the ultimate learning environment for landscape and wildlife photographers, so you can best capture our beautiful planet.